Terms and Conditions
by Phangirling
Summary: Ally's dad has finally agreed to let her hire somebody to help out around the store - so long as said somebody doesn't mind not being paid a single cent. Enter Austin Moon, washed-up internet sensation who's certain arrangements can be made that would be beneficial to all involved. /Auslly AU.


He was _perfect_. Cheerful, friendly, and a music theory student at the nearby community college, so she wouldn't have needed to spend hours training him for the job. He knew how to work a cash register, understood that the instruments had to be handled with the utmost care, and he started off his interview by calling her pretty.

Everything was indeed running smoothly until she mentioned the catch.

"At least this one didn't laugh while he stormed out the door."

"Thanks, Trish, but that's not really helping."

"Just sayin'."

Sighing, Ally shot her best friend a playful eyeroll and tore the latest prospect's application off her clipboard.

"That was the last one." she announced, frowning as she crumpled it in her fist.

Trish stood from her seat at the baby grand piano and sauntered toward the counter, fashion magazine and wayward pieces of her new work uniform in tow.

"I feel for you, Ally, but what do you expect? It's not like somebody competent enough to work at a music store but dumb enough to do it on an unofficial basis so your dad doesn't have to pay them is just going to walk through the door."

"You're probably right. It's just that - hey!" Ally shouted all of a sudden, making a clumsy beeline for a pair of boys she absently noticed entering the store moments earlier. She yanked a trumpet from the blonde's hands while simultaneously taking a worn baseball from the redhead's. "Sorry, but there's no...whatever it is you were doing allowed in the store."

"If I may, miss," The redhead said as he took a pointed step forward. "'What we were doing' was playing an innovative game of strategy and poise, known more commonly as trumpet baseball or trumpetball. I can assure you that no harm was going to befall your shop or your trumpet. ...At least, you know, not intentionally."

"Good to know."

"So can we have the trumpet back?" the blonde inquired hopefully.

"No."

"How about the baseball?"

"No."

"But we brought it with us and - okay, fine."

"Let me handle this, buddy. See," The redhead leaned in close. "That's _Austin Moon_." He jabbed a thumb at his friend, who grinned brightly and waved.

"...So?"

"He's famous, duh!"

"Never heard of him."

"I remember!" Trish declared. Both boys beamed. "He_ was_ famous. For three weeks. Like a year ago."

Austin sighed, his hazel eyes downcast. "It's only been ten months."

"Yeah, and he'd totally still be famous if - "

"Not helping, Dez."

"Dad!" Ally called, effectively ending the pointless conversation. "I'm going on my break." She nodded a goodbye to Trish then glared at Austin and Dez. "I suggest you two find something else to occupy yourselves with. Preferably somewhere far away from here."

* * *

Her eyes falling shut and fingers gliding across the yellowed old piano keys, Ally tentatively began to sing.

_"Stop hiding out in the shadows_

_scared to show the world you exist_

_don't lock yourself in the darkness_

_the world is so much brighter than this..."_

She abruptly stopped playing and read over the last line scribbled in her songwriting journal. Something wasn't right. She had been working on the song for weeks now, yet the first notes and lyrics were still frustrating her.

"I like that song, but maybe you should speed it up some."

Ally yelped, eyes going wide as she turned to face the doorway.

"Austin? Do you not see the keep out sign?"

"What keep out sign?"

"Asked and answered." she muttered, righting herself on the piano bench and shooting Austin a wary glance. "I thought you left."

"Dez needs that baseball back. He thinks his dad might need it for an invention but he didn't want to come ask you for it himself because you kind of intimidated him. Weird, right?" He grinned. Ally scoffed.

"Fine." She grabbed the baseball from a cluttered tabletop and lobbed it at Austin, who caught it with ease. "There. You can go now. In the future, please heed the warnings of large signs that are almost impossible to miss."

"I was talking to your friend Trish downstairs," he began, ignoring her obvious dismissal. "She said you've been looking to hire somebody to work with you in the shop, but you can't pay them in cash because your dad's kind of a cheapskate."

"Thank you the recap, now if you don't mind - "

"I'll do it."

Ally balked. "...What?"

"See, the thing about me is that I'm ridiculously talented. I can sing, dance, play just about any instrument - even a recorder!"

"Plastic ones don't count."

"Well, give me a wooden one and I could probably play it, too."

"What does this have to do with you working at Sonic Boom?" she demanded, shaking her head as if to clear her confusion.

"The one thing I can't do is write songs. I've tried, but it's just not my thing. After my last songwriter quit on me - don't ask - " Ally's parted lips fell shut. "I couldn't write anything good and my fifteen minutes of fame were up before I knew it. Now, Trish told me that you write amazing songs, but because you have stage fright, nobody ever gets to hear them. I was thinking - "

"That we could be partners." she finished for him. "You would work at the store for free and in exchange, I would write songs for you so that you can become famous again."

Austin nodded eagerly. "So what do you say?"

She smiled at him and nodded.

"No!" Her expression pinched into a scowl as she rose from her seat, taking advantage of Austin's stunned state to physically drag him out the door.

"What? But, Ally!" he cried, stumbling as she gave him a final shove. "Just think about it! You aren't going to get a better offer than this."

Ally stilled, her hands tightening on the door as she reluctantly considered it. Loathe as she was to admit it, he had managed to make some good points. She was talented but terrified of showing it. Her search for a new employee was more desperate than casual at this point, and her dad was clearly a shameless cheapskate.

Plus, there was no way she was going to get a better offer than this.

"Fine. It's a deal."

Laughing and cheering, Austin spread his arms for a hug just as Ally stuck out a hand for him to shake. Both noticed their mistake and switched, awkwardly clashing yet again. Finally, Austin shrugged and dropped his hand.

"We'll work on it."

* * *

**a/n:** What do you think? I really like this idea and I'm looking forward to writing more if you guys like it, so please review to tell me what you think. Thanks so much for reading and I sincerely hope you enjoyed.


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